The Bloodbound Awakening

r second dream, Elia

cradling a single drop of ruby, exactly as it had been in her dream. Her fin

sn't p

archaic, the kind that hadn't been used in centuri

e made her jump. "W

t went dry. "

ke, museum-piece ancient." She frowned. "You should sho

d. She curled her fingers around the pendant. "I m

he could respond, Jason barged in,

ays-" He froze, spotting the pen

y did look disturbingly like a d

a said, though she d

ed. "Creepy.

d ask more questions. The moment the pendant touched her skin, a shiver raced down her

Lowell's voice echoed from dow

Veyruhn felt

fingers, but every shadow seemed to twitch at the corner of Elian's vision. Their tour guide-a wiry man with a patchy beard-

was where the infamous Blood Market operated in the 15th century. Locals

ht's Children. That's way

of the square, where an old woman sat on a stoop, her gnarled hands working at a bundl

, Elian told her

woman's lips peeled back in a smil

she croaked, just loud enough for E

The pendant grew suddenl

asked, falling in

er of movement caught her eye-a shadow detachi

eath h

llowed her gaze

like a person. Like

Mira's arm. "D

inted. "

adow w

orcing herself to breathe. "

ard a stooped figure lurking near a butcher's shop. The man wore a long coat despite the

ulse spik

yes. "Jason, stop

n suddenly turned and wave

ipped his head up-just enough to reveal a sliver of pa

ndant went

, oblivious. "Our next stop is

the figure, who had begun moving again-not toward th

her hand. "Y

ne," El

e corner, the figure's whisper slithe

me pendant when s

s a tens

ed tavern for any sign of the hat man. Jason, for once, was uncharacteri

d down. "Okay, what is

guy wasn't normal, Mi.

e there was nothing to see." She turned to Elian. "And

t to the necklace. "

vampire and now his maybe-reincarnated girlf

Afternoon tour starts in ten! We'll be visiting th

rn window, where a familiar silhouette stood across the street-

ze climbed the nearby buildings u

e stood

l.

el

e world lurched. The tavern noises faded t

ngled in her (Seraphina's?) hair as she w

li

. She was on the floor, her c

tavern wa

side her, face ashen. "

reet, the bal

ed, letting them help

Mira excha

ed like a brand

, Elian di

wo

andleli

arth and old blood. Raelith stood before her, close enough to tou

hing for the pendant at her throat. His fingers b

eak, but her voic

words came out in that same unfamiliar l

ainst her lips. "You wear her face. Her blood. Her curse." His hand slid t

ke up sc

in an instant, shakin

om her neck-no, there, clutched in her own whi

of the bed, th

ing thi

it